UN envoy to reconvene Syrian talks next week
Xinhua, May 10, 2017 Adjust font size:
The UN special envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura will reconvene the intra-Syrian talks under the auspices of the United Nations in Geneva on May 16 to end the Syrian conflict, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric announced here Tuesday.
"As preparations for talks continue, the special envoy reiterates his hope that the agreement reached last week in Astana will be implemented in full, thus bringing about a significant de-escalation in violence, and helping shape an environment conducive to the political intra-Syrian talks in Geneva," Dujarric said at a daily news briefing here.
De Mistrua will brief the UN Security Council later this month, he said.
On May 6, during the Astana talks, Russia, Iran and Turkey signed a memorandum on the creation of four or more safe zones in Syria.
The de-escalation zones deal went into effect in Syria at midnight of last Saturday, reports said. By June 4, guarantors of the deal will establish the exact borders of the zones, according to Russia's Defense Ministry.
The third round of the Syria talks was held in Astana, capital of Kazakhstan, on March 14-15. Representatives of Russia, Iran and Turkey, which had brokered a nationwide ceasefire in Syria, took part in the negotiations alongside the Syrian government delegation and experts from the United Nations, United States and Jordan. Endit